


How Lovers Hold Hands

by beanplague



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: Drabble, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28332558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanplague/pseuds/beanplague
Summary: Felix gives his seminar on intimate hand holding. Ellie is a captive audience.[just a couple of bits related to felix over-analyzing his relationship with the captain, and some ellie/nyoka on the side. written in like 20 minutes for fun and goofs.]
Relationships: Ellie Fenhill/Nyoka, The Captain/Felix Millstone
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	How Lovers Hold Hands

**Author's Note:**

> now i don't know how to explain this without essentially Explaining A Joke but there is one sex joke in this big joke of a fic and it's a mention of docking. don't look it up if you don't already know what it is--it isn't especially bad but it's funnier if you just let your imagination conjure something up.

“Hands crossed at the wrist, fingers interlaced.” Felix Millstone of the Unreliable (he started calling himself that recently. It will never not be cool) is demonstrating the aforementioned pose with his own hands, thus looking like a promotional tube man outside of a ship-wash, tangled in the wind. Ellie Fenhill, also of the Unreliable, nods.

“That is pretty intimate.”

“It’s  _ really _ intimate, Ellie. The most intimate.” Felix isn’t an expert on anything, but he seems to consider himself an expert on this useless subject. “And the Boss held my hand that way, so basically we’ve gone ahead and signed a marriage contract.”

Ellie raises an eyebrow. “I feel like I missed out on some key parts of the conversation. Are you and the Captain together?”

“No! No. But that’s the thing, right? They’re clearly trying to signal to me that we should be. Or, you know, they think we should. I’m undecided on it.”

“Oh really? You’re undecided on whether or not you want to date the Captain?”

_ “No. _ I’m playing cool and hard to get. Is it obvious?” asks Felix, looking at the door to his room to make sure no one steps in. Ellie had only wanted to talk to him about his overpowered Systems and Serfdoms character and now she’s trapped in this conversation about Felix’s obvious crush on the Captain and the different forms of hand holding. This is so juvenile and ridiculous that it almost becomes endearing. Almost.

“Felix, can I tell you something?”

“Yes, as long as it’s nice. Is it going to be nice?”

“You know it isn’t. Anyway, it’s super fucking obvious,” says Ellie. “You follow them everywhere, agree with everything they say, and you’re freaking out about  _ hand holding. _ You’re an adult, man.”

“Yeah, and adults think about this stuff! Being an adult is about blowing your own savings, writing your own resume speeches, and thinking about the subtle stuff. The nuance, Ellie.” Felix shakes his head. “How do you and Nyoka hold hands?”

“Uh, we don’t?”

“What, really? I had no idea things were that bad with you guys.”

“Things with me and Nyoka are  fine, dipshit. We just don’t spend time walking around and holding hands like four-year-olds.”

“Hey, maybe four-year-olds have the right idea!”

It is at that point that Nyoka clears her throat, and the two of them turn to see her in the doorway, beer in hand. “Heard a lot of yelling going on from my cabin and figured I’d check it out. Something about four-year-olds?”

Before Ellie can say anything, Felix does that same weird contortion with his arms. Wrists crossed over each other, fingers interlaced. “Nyoka, what does it mean when someone holds your hand like this?”

Nyoka pauses. “How much lube?”

“What? I mean, I guess Boss’s hands are kind of sweaty sometimes. Or, maybe it’s mine? I can’t really tell. I get kind of nervous around them—but you can’t tell them that! I’m playing it cool.”

Ellie says, “He means actual hand holding, Ny.”

“Oh, like actual hand holding? That doesn’t mean anything.” Nyoka shrugs. She walks into the room, taking a seat on Felix’s bed. Man, she really makes herself comfortable anywhere she goes. “I mean, I guess it  could mean that they like you. When did it happen?”

“A couple times! When we were in Byzantium they held my hand because they ‘didn’t want me to get lost’ but I think that was an excuse, because I’m super good at following them around without getting lost.”

“Didn’t you get lost on Monarch?”

“No! I saw a cool bug and wanted to get a closer look. But I’ve been fine everywhere else.”

Ellie sighs. “I just think they might be a touchy person. They’ve held  _ my _ hand before. Void knows why, but still.”

“But did they hold your hand like  _ this?” _

“You don’t have to keep contorting yourself like that.”

Nyoka says, “Nah. It’s good to have a visual.” Ellie rolls her eyes, but she’s kind of a sucker when it comes to that woman, so she says nothing else. Felix continues.

“This is a hand holding position for  _ lovers, _ Ellie. Don’t make a face! It’s true. You wouldn’t hold my hand like that.”

“I totally would.”

“No, you wouldn’t, because that would make you a ship-wrecker. And a cheater, because Nyoka’s right there and she would never let you live it down if you hand-cheated on her with me.”

Ellie glances at Nyoka, who is carrying this relaxed smile on her face. She shrugs. “He has a point. I wouldn’t let you live it down. It’s hilarious.”

“Anyway, the Captain holds  _ your _ hands sometimes, sure, but they always do it like this—” Felix unlaces his fingers, his fingers now pressing against the back of the other hand. “This is totally friendly. Nothing romantic about it.”

“You’re ridiculous,” says Ellie.

“I dunno, I’m starting to switch sides here. Cap  _ does _ hold your hand different than they do his. Maybe they just don’t like you as much, El.”

“Oh  _ shut up _ —!”

“What’s with all the racket?” The Vicar is standing in the doorway now. Ellie groans. “Are we looking at the tossball draft for the year? Because if so, I have plenty of thoughts on the Darlings—”

“Max! If you and someone else do this—” Void, Felix is doing it again. “Does that mean they like you?”

A beat of silence. Max looks at Felix, then Nyoka, then Ellie. “Yes? You all spend time discussing this sort of thing? Young people these days never cease to amaze me.”

“Yes! Even the Vicar agrees.” Felix seems to have tuned out for about 100% of every word that came after yes. He fist-pumps. All this hand action—and the fact that Ellie cares enough to make note of it—is getting tiring. “The Captain totally has it bad for me.”

“But do you have it bad for them?”

Felix goes quiet, and then tilts his head to look in the doorway. “They’re not in the hallway or anything, are they?”

_ “Aw,” _ says Nyoka.

“Don’t  _ aw _ him. You’re better than that,” says Ellie. “Nobody’s in the damn hallway, Felix.”

“No, I am!” Another voice rings out, and shortly after appears Parvati, taking a spot beside Max in the doorway. “Sorry, uh. Didn’t mean to startle anyone. I was just fixing some stuff in the hallway and noticed you were all talking and, you know! Kind of like to feel included and stuff and it’s always fun to talk to you guys about aetherwave dramas—”

“Parvati, you’re always welcome ‘round here,” says Nyoka. Parvati smiles a little, and Felix brings her up to speed on everything—the hand holding argument—and proceeds to give his visual again. Parvati hums. Max blinks.

“Wait, you guys are talking about actual hand holding? I thought it was some sort of euphemism.” God, now Max is doing it with his hands. “Well, now I’m embarrassed.” He does not seem embarrassed.

“What?  _ Ew! _ You thought it was about  _ sex?” _ Felix sounds absolutely scandalized. Ellie can’t tell if he’s exaggerating it to fuck with Max or if he’s that disgusted at the idea of Max thinking about sex. Probably a mix of both. “Gross. You have  _ sex?” _

“I don’t know that you’d want an answer to that question, young Millstone.”

“I don’t! I can’t believe this. You guys think I would just bring everyone in here to talk about something like that? That stuff is private!” Felix is going on his orphan repressed-sexuality induced rant. Nyoka and Max talk over him.

“Hey, don’t worry Vic. I thought the same thing,” says Nyoka.

“This does not reassure me.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think it would. What were you thinking it meant? I was thinking just normal rolling around that he was making complicated.”

“Well, I thought it might be something in the docking family—”

_ “ _ — _ Ew! _ Ew! Ew! Back to hand holding,  _ please _ .” Felix definitely does not know what docking is. Ellie is like, somewhat aware? But it’s not exactly her area of expertise. She might find some way to make fun of Max for knowing about it, but before she can think of anything, Parvati clears her throat.

She says: “Have you thought about asking the Captain about it?”

Everyone goes silent. It’s almost eerie. Ellie looks around to her shipmates with confusion—what the fuck? Weren’t they just making banter about euphemism or whatever? And now Parvati suggests that extremely simple idea and they’re being quiet?—and Felix is  _ blushing? _

“I. Um,” he scratches the back of his neck. “That’d be kind of embarrassing, wouldn’t it?”

_ “D’aw _ , Felix! I could ask for ya, if that’s the problem!”

Ellie realizes that she’s just listening to this sappy garbage and suddenly makes her way towards the door. “This is so stupid. I’m out!” she announces. She is  _ way _ too cool to care about this stuff. To care about these people enough to listen to Felix talk about  _ hand holding _ . It’s extremely stupid. And she picked the right time to leave, too, because after she squeezes past Max and Parvati to get into the hallway, she sees SAM on the warpath towards the room; probably to aggressively sanitize Felix’s floor. And who knows, maybe it will donate some opinions on the intimate nature of certain hand holding positions.

* * *

When Ellie makes her way to the kitchen to grab a mock apple. she feels a hand on her shoulder. Nyoka. She doesn’t even need to check.

“What? Gonna lecture me on caring about other people or something?”

“Nah, that’s the Captain’s schtick. I just wanted to hang with you. ‘S nice to check in with everyone else, but you’re my favorite.”

Ellie can’t help the smile that crosses her face. “Bullshit. You really know how to charm a girl, huh?”

“Oh yeah. And who knows, maybe you and I could test the hand holding stuff later.”

“Fuck you.”

Nyoka snorts. “Not before we test out the hand stuff.”


End file.
